Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy is an award winning nonprofit organization proudly serving the youth of San Bernardino County since 2001. The organization's mission is to help enrich the lives of young people through life building activities and instruction in the areas of education, employment, health, mentoring, and community service. Since its founding YVYLA has provided 1000's of co
mmunity youth with training in a number of subjects; academic development, violence prevention, employment development, leadership and life skills development to name a few. YVYLA’s efforts have resulted in receiving multiple awards: 2010 Time for Change Pioneer Award, 2010 San Bernardino County Education Medal of Honor Award, 2010 CAHPERD Emmett Ashford Community Spirit Award, 2008 Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission San Bernardino County Award, 2008 Unsung Hero Award, 2008 Black Rose Award, 2008 Social Lites Community Service Award, 2007 Amanda Guruge Lifetime Commitment Award, 2007 Man of Valor Award Jubilee House of Praise, 2007 Molina Healthcare of California Community Champion Award, 2007 People’s Choice Inc “Leaders of Youth Award, 2006 Excellence Award, 2006 Citizens of Achievement Award, 2006 Youth Outreach Award, 2005 “Inspiration to Youth” Good Samaritan Award and 2005 Social Action Trailblazers Award Recipient. This program will develop a group of youth supported advocacy and community-organizing groups located in high crime and high need area within the City of San Bernardino. A minimum of 12 but no more than 15 youth advocates will be recruited. The scope of the activities for this program will include:
• Youth advocacy to promote awareness of and education centering on the issues of gun violence, illegal access to weapons, and community risk factors, and resulting impacts. This on-line forum will be developed and implemented in partnership with the San Bernardino Sun Newspaper.
• Youth advocacy through a bi-monthly radio and four public access television broadcast that provide programming centered on issues of gun violence, illegal access to weapons, community risk factors, and resulting impacts. This forum will be support through partnerships with public access television and radio.
• To establish a Youth and Parent Violence Prevention Council that will work in conjunction with the youth organizer to identify and develop outreach and education activities (public presentations, develop and issuance of brochures, Public Service Announcements, and billboard advertisements) that promote anti-violence messages and resources for those impacted by violence.
• Within the first month of the program youth will be recruited at designated Pistols to Pencils sites. A core group of youth will use the first sixty days to develop a working project timeline and to develop a youth perspective implementation plan for components of the overall project. The approaches identified in this proposal will be used to prevent gun violence through the development and implementation of systems change strategies that create changes in policies that impact access and control of guns, implement widespread intervention/prevention strategies, and empower youth communities to address recognize and address gun violence through advocacy and education. Young Visionaries will target youth to meet at-risk youth at their place of need through the promotion of ideas, strategies, and opportunities that are addressed to the youth who are at higher risk of victimization. Further to promote an early interest and awareness of the lethality issues related to gun violence. These efforts are more likely to interest and engage other youth, as they will be youth driven. Also, advocates based in the school setting, at high need sites are more likely to identify issues that adults will not observe or be aware. Our concept is: “Youth Focused, Youth Driven, and Youth Outcomes”. We believe that this approach is more likely to garner success when targeting youth. The community will be involved through coordinated outreach activities that will promote change through shared experiences and mutual aid to one another. An alliance of collaborations that promote similar interest will be in place to support this program. In addition to developing strategies and advocating for new policies that promote healthy environments through systems changes that diminish causal risk factors and youth perceptions that accept violence as a social norm. YVYLA believes that these efforts are best generated through youth while being provided through youth attention getting media. Through direct services contact with youth YVYLA has observed that youth are media supported and influenced through their use of cell phones, My Space, Face book, text messaging, AIM, as well as messages generated through popular artist using music and film to establish trends and influence behavior. Youth will develop employment skills through interaction with program staff and community leaders who will be in a mentor and job coach role.
· The implementation of a internet media article, radio and public access television broadcast toward youth and young adults that incorporates local issues that influence or related gun violence issues. Identify health risks related to guns and influence youth perceptions of violence
Increase community awareness in target areas of the legal consequences of straw buyers and the potential impact to the community
Increase, youth, parent and public awareness about the legal, civil and personal consequences of gun violence and Safe Storage laws
Increase the participation of community and faith based organizations in gun violence reduction efforts through community outreach and advocacy
